Behind a wrecked car, Natasha performed a roll, evading a bat's attack, then took out a somewhat strangely shaped gun and aimed at the bat, firing a shot.
In an instant, blue ice crystals climbed onto the bat's body, quickly turning it into an ice block. A bat specimen, frozen in ice, fell from mid-air.
Natasha shook her hand and said, "I must admit, this thing is more useful than I imagined. The trajectory of the ice cones is fairly accurate."
On the other side of the road, Hawkeye was cooperating with Quake. Daisy slapped the wall of a tall building, causing the bats perched on the building's roof to flutter into the air.
Hawkeye took a uniquely shaped bow and arrow, aimed at the rising swarm of bats, drew the bow to its full extent, and a bright blue arrow accompanied by ice crystals whistled past.
In a flash, the ultra-cold ice crystals exploded, forming an icy whirlwind. The swarm of bats was instantly frozen into ice blocks. As they fell onto the ground, the ice shattered and the bats were split into several pieces.
Hawkeye walked up to inspect, and Shockwave Girl Daisy came over as well. Daisy squatted down and fiddled with the ice blocks, saying, "It's incredible, their self-healing abilities are completely ineffective."
"After all, they've been frozen, there's no room for them to self-heal. Whoever thought of this is a genius," Hawkeye said.
Natasha spoke into the walkie-talkie, "Chief George wants us to deal with the flanks before we move on to support the main battlefield. The transformation effect of the Giant Lizard is almost up. We still need to get there to salvage the situation."
With that, she destroyed a car door and sat in the car. Hawkeye and Daisy also climbed in, and the group hurried towards the primary battlefield.
Near Brooklyn Bridge, as the sun gradually rose, the vampires' assault began to weaken. Connors' scales also started to fade, and his body began to downsize.
With a leap, he hid behind a tall building and slowly transformed back into human form.
Spider-Man swung over and threw a backpack to Connors, saying, "Doctor! Clothes!"
"Thank you," Connors said. His lizard features hadn't fully disappeared yet, his eyes were still vertical, and faint scales were still visible on his cheeks, making him look somewhat strange. But Peter said, "Doctor, you shouldn't do such dangerous things in the future. Who knows if the serum will…"
"As a researcher, you should have faith in your own research products. I believe everything is within control."
Peter scratched his head and said, "Alright, I'll take you back now. Doctor Schiller seems to want to talk to you. Is the freeze gun your creation?"
"Uh... not entirely. I just made some modifications."
"I've discovered that when it comes to cost reduction, you have a talent that most people don't," Doctor Connors praised. "You actually managed to mass-produce such a miraculous weapon. How did you do it?"
Peter gave a bitter smile, saying, "I guess it's because I'm poor."
In the lab of Stark Building, when Connors entered, Schiller and Stark were already waiting for him. Connors said, "The situation on the battlefield has improved since dawn. However, the upcoming night will surely be difficult for us."
"From what I can see, the mastermind behind the vampires seems to be regaining strength. He has called upon a large number of bats, probably planning to launch a full-scale assault tonight."
"Nick just called to say that the vampires are asking for peace talks."
"That's just their stalling tactic," Connors said. "Can't Nick see that? Peace talks? Then what is the meaning of them continuing to mobilize their forces into the Brooklyn Area?"
"We all know their intentions, but the problem is that some humans don't think well," Stark said.
"It's not that they don't think well, just that they have profits to gain," Schiller said. "Those who sell out their race's interests for their personal gain, those who count defeat before victory, and those full of superstition and fear. Mankind has many of these sorts, so producing a few oddballs is not surprising."
"What did Nick say? Are we really going to have peace talks with them?" Doctor Connors walked over and sat down, also pouring himself a glass of water.
"If the circumstances were the same as usual, this might truly succeed. We've fought to a stalemate, with neither side willing to incur any more losses. The vampires, who initiated the war, are not justified, but humans are at a disadvantage. Both sides are at a deadlock, and the rest of it will be dividing interests at the negotiation table."
Connors was sipping from his glass, said, "Yeah, everybody wins. Nobody cares about the casualties on the front lines."
"But, as I said, this time, things might be different."
"What sort of turning point could there be? As far as I can see, the people sitting in the congressional offices don't want to fight anymore," Connors said. "They're even beginning to ask the police not to use firepower. What sort of nonsense is this?"
Schiller took out a remote control and turned on a screen in the lab, which was broadcasting live news.
On one side of the screen was a reporter, while on the other was a congressman. The congressman passionately said, "We will fight these monsters till the end! Humans will never take a step back! They want to sit down and talk now? I want to tell them that it's too late! They must pay the price for this..."
"Hmm, is this the warmongering faction?" Connors asked.
Shiller clicked the remote control and switched to another channel. A somewhat fat and richer-looking politician sat on the couch and said, "We should view this invasion from a more rational perspective. Admittedly, although the first invaders were vampires, I believe this was not without reason. They might have their own demands, and the human race should pay attention to..."
Before he could finish, his phone in his pocket rang. He said, "Excuse me, I need to take this call."
After a while, the slightly fat politician walked back and said, "I just received some heartbreaking news, yes..."
He shook his fists angrily, "These terrifying creatures caused thousands of police casualties! This is a horrifying atrocity! It's an unjust war! We must fight them to the end! Listen, you damn creatures, I say here, you are dead..."
"What's gotten into him? Why..."
Then, Shiller switched to another channel. This time the interviewee was a big shot, as the backdrop was the White House's office. The interviewee said, "We deeply regret this invasion event, but the blood of our sacrificed personnel can't be shed in vain. The violent behavior of the vampires must be punished by justice. The President and the people are committed to facing this disaster together and will never back down..."
"What's actually going on?" Connors questioned, "Why have their responses suddenly become so unanimous? And so hardline?"
Connors wasn't the only one feeling puzzled.
In a dim basement, Deacon, the leader of the Radical Faction of vampires, said to his subordinates, "Quickly go find out what's happening! Hasn't our lobbying work performed quite well? How did those damned humans suddenly change their attitude so completely?"
He cursed softly, "My plan had just started working. As long as we can stall until daytime, the humans would be helpless. Hurry up! Investigate immediately! What exactly happened?!"
Inside S.H.I.E.L.D.'s office, Nick and Pierce shook hands. Pierce said, "I know it's been a long time since we last met, but we will save reminiscing for later."
"Are you confident in controlling this industry chain? I need your support in the UN Security Council. If S.H.I.E.L.D. can possess an industry chain that's not controlled by any other powers, it would be beneficial for both of us."
"This industry chain can only be controlled by us because it involves superordinary creatures. I am very confident that I can convince Osborn and Stark to jointly maintain it, while resisting the pressure from other powers."
"I sincerely hope so." Pierce concluded, "Even if we don't consider future development, merely the industry chain involving vampires and the technology for immortality could bring us unimaginable profits. They are essential to maintaining world peace and must be completely controlled at all costs. I trust you can make it happen, Nick."
"Of course, we have already received the preliminary plan from Osborn. To be honest, the person who came up with this method is a genius. The mystery of the superordinary creatures and their externally displayed characteristics should be enough to attract people to invest massively."
"The plan is now confirmed, and we must hurry to urge them to start production. Don't forget, the war is still on. This is the peak time, if we can release the first batch of samples before all the vampires are completely wiped out, things afterwards will be much easier."
Pierce patted Nick's shoulder and said, "Don't worry about the initial investment being too large. I think we can be more aggressive. Bribing those that stand uncommitted and silencing them with money, everything aims for the swift implementation of the plan."
"Don't worry, even if S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't take action, those who see the immense profit will naturally strive to convince their colleagues."
"Which factions have confirmed their participation?"
"The office on the south side..."
Nick Fury pointed to the left, and Pierce said, "I knew it! Those warmongering left-wingers are our natural allies."
"All right, I won't bother you anymore. I know you still need to get more allies."
"Oh, and I heard that some new freeze weapons have appeared on the front lines. Can you get me one to look at? I'm a bit curious."
"No problem. They are a batch of freeze guns urgently produced by Stark Group, codenamed Blizzard. I can get a set for you, I haven't seen it myself either."
After Pierce left, Nick called Shiller and said, "Are you sure the UN Security Council won't have doubts about this? After all, the timing of the appearance of that bat creature seems too coincidental."
"And it only appeared once, then quickly disappeared, won't this arouse suspicion?"
"You agreed to this plan when it was being formulated, didn't you?" Shiller responded in a somewhat languid voice, apparent fatigue from staying up all night could be heard.
Nick let out a slight sigh. He said, "If we were to wait for all of them to flow into New York and then prepare to launch a full-scale invasion, we'd certainly be at a disadvantage and the casualties would be larger."
"We can only take the initiative and draw them out. I just feel that this time the plan was a bit too rash and it is inevitable that we are leaving room for suspicion."
"That's your problem. You're the main director of this Bat God descent play and I'm merely a handyman."
Nick chuckled and said, "A handyman? That's quite interesting. This is the first time I've heard this term. I think you'd be the handyman every director dreams of having."
"You're a great director too, Director Nick. It's a pleasure working with you."
"Pleasure to work with you too."